male pts who pull out foleys?

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So i have now seen this two times. One was someone else patient and then it happened to me. I had a confused pt who right before the start of my shift pull out his foley. After i got report i went to check on him and he was covered in blood. So I cleaned him up and looked to see how bad it was. Part of the problem was he was pulling at himself only making it worse. So I did my best in cleaning him on went on my way. But every time i check on him he was continuing to dribble blood and now covered himself in it. So i was hopping that it would stop and he would urinate so i would not have to reinsert. Well close to 8hrs later i called the Dr. and explained he not urinated and i was concerned about him pulling it out again, so i got soft wrist restraints. I felt horrible for having to do this but it really was for the best. OF course once i did it all that was coming out was blood!!!!!!!!! I felt so horrible, and i just kept checking him all night to make sure he was ok. Now when i think about what he did...i understand that there has to be trauma since the balloon was still inflated! But its so hard, i just wanted to hear others options on this.

Specializes in Rodeo Nursing (Neuro).

I had a male pt get out of bed, cross the room, and fall, leaving his foley behind hanging from the bed. Doc said to put the largest one I could get in to keep the urethra patent. Central supply sent up a 28F. I took one look at that monster and got an 18 from the supply room! He oozed a little blood around it for a good 24 hrs.

Also had a female pull hers. Easist female foley I've ever placed--just follow the blood.

And yes, I did walk cross-legged for the rest of the shift, both times. That's gotta hurt.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTAC, Critical Care.
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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.

Self removed foleys can be quite bloody. I've had docs order the next size up, to tamponade the bleeding in the urethra.

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Specializes in retired from healthcare.

I have seen a patient who pulled his catheter out and I was told everyone has done all they can. I won't describe the details here but it was disgusting. I was clueless about why the R.N. supervisors would not offer some kind of solution to make him stop. Also, he was confused and really strong so you could not physically keep him from pulling it out and doing himself more damage.

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Specializes in ICU.

Was he complaining of any pain? Probably not. :sarcastic: You can tell them until you're blue in the face ....

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Saiderrap Any patient who has had urethral trauma from an indwelling catheter should be referred to urology, they may recommend intermittent catheterization instead of an indwelling catheter.

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OWWWWW. The title of the thread makes me cringe.

Get really, really creative with tape and/or the foley holders.

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Big ouchies......:eek:

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Specializes in retired from healthcare.

I did ask the RN supervisor about this but this patient was so confused and hard to manage that it came across as a silly question.

I don't think any of them could visualize being able to get a catheter into him because he could overpower them.

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